Heart Throb
by Luv Jasmine
Summary: Harry Potter's son Albus falls in love with Luna and Neville's daughter Selene. During his time of uncertainty he looks to his favorite cousin Rose for help and guidance. Chapter Two is up! More chapters on the way!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Chapter One

Albus Severus Potter, son of the famous Harry Potter, stepped off the Hogwarts Express on the first day of his third Year at the most famous wizarding school in the world. The fresh autumn air felt good in his lungs, and he knew he was back in his favorite place in the world, or nearly there anyway. He just stood there, breathing, his eyes closed, imagining _her. _His lips curled into a smile at the thought of her face.

"Albus _move_!" demanded an impatient Lily. His trance broken, smile gone, he stepped aside, sweeping a pathway with his arm for his little sister.

"Your Majesty," he said in a mock humble tone. Lily huffed and stepped out, careful not to touch her older brother. Albus heard a giggle next to him, and he turned to see his cousin, Rose Weasley grinning at him. "Rose!" he laughed, hugging her.

"How's your summer been?" They hadn't seen each other for two months, not since the Potter's annual end-of-the-year party. Both of the families had been on vacation a lot. Al took a moment to look at Rose. She'd grown taller over the summer. She'd changed quite a bit since their first day at Hogwarts, when they were inexperienced eleven year olds, looking at each other nervously before being sorted. Rose looked much like her stunningly gorgeous mother, except for her glowing red Weasley hair. Freckles danced across her nose, and her blue eyes, another trait from her father, sparkled with joy and wisdom.

Al himself had changed some during the summer. He had grown at least two inches, and received a terrific tan from Mexico, where Ginny Potter had announced she'd been dying to go for ages in mid-June. He was the only of his siblings to have inherited his Grandmother's eyes. He looked a lot like his dad, Harry Potter, except his hair was more of a reddish brown than black. "My summer's been great, yours?"

"It was wonderful…" she said, then started off about the countryside, visiting Fleur and Bill and their daughter Victoire at Shell Cottage, and the Bahamas (Ron and Ginny were a bit ambitious about tropical places with beaches that summer.) Albus found it interesting, but their was someone he wanted to see more than his favorite cousin, someone who he also hadn't seen since the party.

Rose broke off, narrowing her eyes. "Have you been listening to a word I just said?" She asked skeptically. Albus realized he had been staring over Rose's shoulder, trying to find that person. Rose turned to try to see where he was looking. "Are you looking for someone?" she teased.

"Er, n-no, just trying to see where Lily went," he gasped, trying blandly to cover up his mistake.

"You wouldn't be looking for your younger sister with such dreamy eyes, Al. D'you think I was born yesterday?" When Al didn't respond, "You can trust me. With _anything_. You know that right?"

Al pursed his lips. What she said was true. He trusted her more than his older brother James. "Selene," he whispered.

At first Rose was incredulous, "Selene? Selene Longbottom? Luna and Neville's daughter?" Then she started laughing.

"What's so funny," asked Albus, stung. After all, he had trusted her with his greatest secret.

"No, no it's not that," she said, wiping tears away of laughter, "It's just that you never cease to surprise me!" When she saw his disappointed expression, she softened her tone. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, she's beautiful, and fun, and smart, and really nice, but what do _you _like about her?"

Albus stared into at the ground, deciding his answer. Then he said, "I don't like her. I _love_ her. I'm sure of it. And I love her because she's absolutely crazy." Rose smiled and shook her head.

"Define 'crazy.'"

"She's all the things you said and more! Her eyes sparkle, and her smile lights up the whole room! She understands me, Rose, and I understand her. She talks in riddles that make everyone stare, but I sometimes stay up all night until I figure them out. And I know she knows that I can. I guess the real reason I love her is because she's _not_ crazy. Everyone thinks she is, but she's not. She's smarter than all of them, they just don't understand it. I love her," he finished breathlessly. Rose's giddy smile was gone, her eyes thoughtful.

"Wow, Albus, that's deep. I didn't know you could feel that way about someone."

Albus smiled, "I _am_ my father's son. And he didn't stop at anything until he got my mother." At this Rose grinned, took Al's hand and squeezed it.

"Problem is…"

"…Daniel, I know." Selene was currently going out with Daniel Thomas, Dean Thomas' son. Suddenly a large figure cut through the crowd and their thoughts.

"Hagrid!" cried Rose and Albus.

"Yeah, yeah," Hagrid waved away the greeting with a trash can lid sized hand. His face broke into a grin, "Come 'ere you two." They rushed to hug Hagrid. From their little groups of friends, where they were catching up the summer, Lily, James, and Rose's brother Hugo rushed to join them.

Hugo was a lot like Ron in many ways, tall and gangly, a long nose, more freckles than you can count per half inch, and blue eyes. The only thing that was different was that his hair was browner than red, but still enough to be red. He described it as dark auburn to anyone who asked. Albus definitely liked him as a cousin, but he felt closer to Rose, as she was his age. At the moment he was releasing Hagrid from a hug and talking to Lily. He was Lily's age, in their second year.

Albus' mind was full of the things he had just told Rose. They were true of course, but how could he tell Selene? How could he possibly describe to her how he felt? How beautiful she looked to him?

Rose saw his frustration and suggested that they go to the boats and wait. On the way, Al was so disoriented that he stumbled right into somebody. He mumbled an apology before looking up. Scorpius Malfoy looked at him, sneering. He looked exactly like his father, there was no difference. Not a trace of Pansy Malfoy's features showed on his face. "Watch it, Potter, you'll damage my new robes," he jeered.

"Leave him alone," demanded Rose in a calm voice. Albus admired her control. He noted that her voice didn't even waver.

"I-," Scorpius began, than saw a Teacher stroll by on the way to the carriages. He narrowed his pale eyes menacingly, not daring to put up a fight. "Just watch it," he whispered between his teeth.

When he was gone, Albus turned to Rose, "Hey thanks for that. I owe you one." Rose shrugged it away casually, but he could tell it got to her. They turned to walk, but Rose stopped in her tracks her eyes wide.

"Al, maybe we should go another way."

"Why?" he asked. Rose tried to turn him around, but he nudged her away. He looked up and his breath froze in his throat, and his heart stopped.

There she was.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

She stood there, leaning by a tree near the edge of the lake. Just passing time before Hagrid got all the first years herded together to get into the boats. She looked as if she was waiting for Albus, but he knew she wasn't. She was waiting for… Daniel. But all the same, Selene's misty eyes lit up when she saw Rose and Albus. She waved. Rose bit her lip thoughtfully, but Albus was already walking toward her, so she followed.

"Hello," said Selene in a dreamy sort of voice. She was a spitting image of her mother: Dirty blond hair and misty eyes, with pale skin. Her face was slightly fuller than her mother's though, as Neville Longbottom was her father. She was still rather thin, despite that fact. And her personality was a little bit different, too. She was the same dreamer her mother was, but she had a little more sense, and believed less nonsense. _More normal_, Albus thought guiltily. He hated thinking bad thoughts about Luna Lovegood. Today Selene was wearing earrings shaped like radishes, no doubt a gift from her mother. She wore her hair in a braid down her back, and woven into the braid were read and gold ribbons- the Gryffindor colors. She also wore her Gryffindor scarf around her ears and nose instead of her neck.

"Hi," said Albus and Rose together. Al noticed that Rose was keeping a watchful eye on him, and even though it felt good to get it off his chest, he almost regretted telling Rose his secret. She had had such a maternal side since she was a little girl. Whenever one of them had fallen off a swing or tripped while playing tag, she would be there right away with a Band Aid or an ice pack, crooning over the wounded toddler, and she insisted in going with Hugo or Lily whenever they were asked to run an errand. Now that Albus had spilled his secret, she wouldn't be letting him out of her sight for fear he might, who knows, go into depression, attack Daniel, or something. But then again, she had noticed right away his eagerness at the train station, so it wouldn't have be too long before her over-watchful eyes had spotted him gazing at Selene.

Rose coughed uneasily, but Selene didn't notice. She kept on smiling that mysterious smile. To break the tension (mostly for Rose's sake, as Selene obviously didn't mind the silence) Albus asked, "So, what's with the scarf?"

Selene crossed her eyes, trying to see the scarf. Her smile widened. She leaned in, and motioned Rose and Al to do the same. She cupped her hand around her mouth as if she were about to tell a great secret. Looking around to see if anyone was looking she whispered, "Whiz-buzzles."

Rose raised an eyebrow, but Albus played along. "Whiz-buzzles?" he asked.

Selene put a finger to her lips and hushed, "Shh. They'll hear us."

Albus smiled. "What do they do?" he whispered.

Selene shuddered. "My mother has told me all about them. Sometimes they go crazy-especially when they hear their name- and fly through your ears and up your nose and into your mouth, and they fly into your head! And then they read every secret you've ever kept and then they go and laugh at you!"

Rose muttered something like, "Oh they'll laugh at you all right." Al nudged her, but he could see that she was smiling, so she didn't mean it as an insult. Selene laughed.

"Rose you're so funny!" she giggled then frowned, "I didn't cover my mouth because then I wouldn't be able to talk very well, so I feel a little…a little naked." She blushed at the comparison. Then her whole face lit up like the sun and glowed like the full moon. Her freckles leaped and jumped and danced and ran across her nose once more, and her misty eyes shone. "Daniel!" she cried. She ran towards a tall boy with dark chocolate skin, pulling off her protective scarf to kiss him. Albus felt his eyes tighten. Rose touched his hand and shook her head. Albus watched in silence as Daniel pulled Selene into an embrace and kissed her back. His head span as thoughts rushed through his mind.

_He doesn't love her like I do_, he thought angrily,_ I would kiss her more passionately than that. I would hold her more tightly. He doesn't understand her. I can see the way he tries to stop her from displaying her mother's side. He's embarrassed by her, yet he wants her because she's beautiful. He doesn't care about her theories about Crumple-horned Snorkacks or Whiz-buzzles. He doesn't love her like I do!_

He hadn't realized how much his anger showed until Rose put her hand on his arm. Her eyes were wide. "Al, your face is red," she gasped. Al took a few deep breaths. No one had seemed to notice, he saw with relief as he looked around. He ran a hand through his messy hair. Rose was looking at him with concern. He turned his face away. God that was going to get annoying. A small voice, possibly his conscience, mumbled in his head, _She's just trying to help…._

_Yeah_, Al thought, _just trying to help. Still, she's like my mother! _

Daniel had let go of Selene. Albus didn't hold a grudge against Daniel, though, for anything. He was nice, and friendly. His dad was one of Harry's friends, and he was one of Albus' friends. Plus, he couldn't blame Dan for liking Selene. He thought he loved her, of course, so he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. He took care of her…. Albus' expression softened. Selene was happy, and that's what he wanted for her, even if it made him incredibly miserable. Albus looked up, trying to find James. Maybe he could talk to him about it, even if it probably would end up like James laughing like a whiz-buzzle. But somehow he couldn't see James as the motherly type; therefore he would not as watchful as Rose. Then he remembered. James was in his fourth year, so that meant that he would take the carriages to Hogwarts. Drat.

Daniel walked over to Rose and Albus. Rose squeezed Al's hand, just in case. Al pulled his out of hers. He was fine.

"Hey Dan," Albus said and grinned.

"Hey," Dan answered, and nodded in Rose's direction to acknowledge her. Rose stayed calm and didn't flinch, like always.

"Hello," she said, and though she tried to sound casual, she couldn't hide the stiffness of her voice. Lucky for her, Daniel didn't notice. Selene bounced up next to him.

"Hagrid is coming," she trilled. Sure enough, the giant man was making his way through the crowd, followed by a gaggle of nervous first years. Poor kids. The older years always stood as tall as possible and looked down at the children, making them feel smaller. The first years thought it was mean, even though it was a joke, but the next year you could see them as second years, taking their turn at staring down the newbies. Hagrid pushed himself to the front of the crowd and stated the usual rules, "All righ' now. These here waters are infested with creatures yeh may or may not know 'bout. We don't want nobody gettin' hurt, so no leanin' over the side, or touchin' the water. Got it? Good. Now, no more'n four to a boat!" Rose and Albus got into a boat. Albus wanted Selene and Daniel to sit with them, but Rose told him that they should stick to Hugo and Lily.

They waited for the two to crawl in unsteadily. Albus looked at the castle looming over them. It looked brilliant, with all the windows lit up and the moon right behind the silhouette of one of the turrets. The last of the teeny first years, who always seemed to get in after the older kids, spilled into the rest of the boats, and they were off. They entered the curtain of ivy and got out onto the pebbles that felt familiar and crunchy under Albus' feet. He was so near Hogwarts now, he could feel the magic. They took the passageway that led right up to the castle door. Hagrid knocked three times and the huge oak doors creaked open to reveal the large marble entryway. The first years gasped.

"Is it true that this castle is more than one thousand years old?" one of them whispered to another as they entered the castle.

"Actually," began Rose, eager to show the first years how she smart she was, "Actually it is, but most of it was destroyed during the last battle between Harry Potter and Voldemort, so most of the entry hall, windows, the Great Hall, and some other places around the castle had to be rebuilt."

As usual, Voldemort's name caused them to flinch. Even though Al's father had destroyed the darkest wizard who ever lived over 21 years ago, some of the more dodgy people stilled used You-Know-Who. It always made Albus grimace when people did, though.

"Listen, you," he said angrily, ignoring Rose's vigorously shaking head and wide eyes, "My father didn't defeat _Voldemort_ all those years ago just so people could still be afraid of him. He did it to free people, and if people are still frightened by a CORPSE then he didn't do any good did he?"

The first years' eyes grew wide, "Your dad?" they gasped. "Harry Potter is your _dad_? He's so awesome!"

Okay, _that_ Albus could live with. "I know, and as I said—"

The first years didn't stick around to hear, as they were already running to tell their friends all about Harry Potter's son.

"You've got such a large fan base already without the help of a few sniveling first years, Potter," a bored voice drawled. Albus and Rose turned to see Scorpius again, with his partners in crime Laurence Goyle and Vanitoso Zabini. "It's a wonder why people would love the son of such a beastly person."

Albus had his wand whipped out before Rose could stop him. "One word, Malfoy..."

"Guys don't fight," said a dreamy voice. Selene drifted over. She looped her arm through Al's. "Come," she said, leading them away. They sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, with Lily and Hugo at Rose's side and Selene and Daniel at Al's side.

Headmistress McGonagall had the first years lined up. She looked over the crowd and lifted something that she'd been holding. It was an old hat, with more meaning than a thousand words. A rip opened at the base and spoke, startling the first years as it sang a song about how it came to be, and about the different Houses.

Headmistress McGonagall stepped up to pick the hat up as the applauding came to an end, a smile playing on her wrinkled face. She was much less strict then she was was when Harry Potter went to school at Hogwarts. He had been shocked when James, his eldest son, had written home saying McGonagall had _smile _lines. The clapping died as she held up the Sorting Hat. The first years murmured curiously. Albus laughed to himself when he remembered what his Uncle Ron had said to him and Rose before his first year of Hogwarts had started, "Don't worry, guys, about being Sorted. All they do is put an old hat on your head. And old, talking hat, and it kind of reads your mind and stuff and shouts out which house you belong in. That's it. I'm telling you this because I was also a bit worried when I was your age. My brothers George and F-Fred-" here his eyes had watered a little at the memory of his late brother, "- they had told me that you had to wrestle a troll, and I spent the last weeks of summer working out and reading_ Ten Minute Muscles Weekly. _When that didn't work I started having dreams, er, _nightmares_ about being pummeled by a troll and being mailed back home in pieces with a note saying I was too wimpy to possibly be placed in one of the honorable Hogwarts houses. Then I found out all it was, was a hat. I was so mad at my brothers."

Albus never did find a way to thank his uncle, who was also his dad's best friend, enough for telling him that, for James had indeed told him that that test was extremely painful and only the strong ones made it out alive. Now, looking at the nervous first years' faces soften the slightest bit with relief as they processed the fact that the Sorting Hat had just sung to them that it was going to be the one Sorting, Albus felt even more lucky that Ron had spilled the beans. He hadn't had to go through that sort of troubling pain that most everyone else went through minutes before the Sorting as they wondered what was going to happen. He had walked into Hogwarts feeling confident and very stress free. He and Rose had looked smugly at the other first years, knowing what was coming up and that there was nothing to worry about. Of course there was the fact that he might have been sorted into Slytherin. But his father had pulled him aside at King's Cross and told him fervently that there was nothing to worry. "And if you should still wish not to be in Slytherin," he had said, "Then the Hat might even consider a different house if you ask it. It did to me."

He had not needed to do that. The moment the hat had been placed on his head it had yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Albus had rushed to the House table where his brother and Selene were already sitting. He had already had many friends, since his father and mother had known many of their parents and he had been friends with them since he was very small. After being placed in the house he wanted most, he had had no worries at all. He knew the lessons would start out easy and he had his cousin Rose to help him out when they got hard. He had slid into a seat next to his brother and Selene as his cousin was sorted. He had turned and smiled at Selene. He had not loved her then, but he had greeted her, she being one of his best friends, and she had smiled dreamily back. They had clapped together with Rose was Sorted into Gryffindor, and they had scooted together to make room for her to sit by them. That all seemed so very far away now as McGonagall called the first nervous first year up, "Aaronson, Claire."

And the Sorting began.


End file.
